1 


COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITL 

HEALTH  SCIENCES  STANDARD 


"HX64093972 
R1 54.Ay2  Ay2         James  Ayer.  In  memor 

RECAP 


rt  4  w 


Columbia  fHntoersitp      ^ 
in  tfje  City  of  J^eto  §9orfe 

College  of  iPfrpgtciang  anb  burgeons 


Reference  Htbrarp 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/jamesayerinmemoOOayer 


.  // 


% 


JAMES   AYER 


In  Memoriam 


born  October  4,  1815 

DIED    DECEMBER   ji,    1891 


PRIVATELY    PRINTED 

1802 


PRINTED    BY 

THE  ART  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
Boston,  1892. 


V-C  0C1  s^ 


v. 


PREFACE. 

The  preparation  of  this  Memorial  Sketch  has  been  a 
labor  of  filial  love.  It  was  suggested  by  notes  which  my 
father  wrote  some  years  ago,  and  left  addressed  to  me. 
From  this  source  I  have  freely  drawn. 

Much  has  been  written  regarding  the  genealogy  of  the 
four  families,  Ayer,  Ayres,  Mason  and  Bourne, — only  an 
outline  of  which  is  given  here. 

I  owe  much  to  the  kindness  of  many  friends  who  have 
aided  in  making  the  statements  as  accurate  as  possi- 
ble, and,  in  addition  to  those  elsewhere  mentioned,  am 
especially  indebted  to  Miss  Ellen  C.  Ayer,  Mrs.  E. 
Corinna  Wheeler,  Miss  A.  Lucy  Bourne,  and  to  Mr. 
Monroe  Ayer  for  information  regarding  the  family 
history;  to  Honorable  William  H.  Clifford  and  Messrs. 


iv  Preface. 

William  H.  Whitmore,  Charles  F.  Mason,  Walter  K. 
Watkins  and  Stephen  C.  Sharpies  for  much  genea- 
logical data,  only  a  small  portion  of  which,  stated  con- 
cisely, appears  in  these  pages ;  to  Honorable  William 
F.  Wharton  for  aid  in  historical  research;  to  Doctors 
Samuel  A.  Green,  J.  Collins  Warren,  Edwin  H.  Brigham 
and  Herbert  L.  Burrell  for  many  important  facts  and 
very  valuable  suggestions ;  and  to  the  Reverend  Doctors 
Cyrus  Hamlin  and  Samuel  E.  Herrick  for  the  friendly 
interest  which  prompted  the  concluding  chapters. 

James  Bourne  Ayer. 
Boston,  December,  /8p2. 


CONTENTS. 


Family  ........        i 

Childhood  and  School  Life           ....  8 

College  Life,  1831-1834           .         .         .         .  .12 

Medical  Studies,  1 834-1 839          .         .         .         .  16 

Early  Professional  Life,  1 839-1 846           .         .  .18 

Life  in  Boston,  1 846-1 860            ....  23 

Life  in  Boston,  1860-1877        .         .         .         .  -30 

Life  in  Boston,  1877-1887            ....  35 

Last  Years,  1 887-1 891     .         .         .         .         .  .40 

Resolutions  of  The  Boston  Society  for  Med- 
ical Improvement           .         .         .         .  -45 

Reminiscences   of  College  and    Professional 
Life,    by    Reverend    Cyrus    Hamlin, 

D.D.,  LL.D 47 

Funeral    Address,  by    Reverend  Samuel   E. 

Herrick,  D.  D.           .         .         .         .         .  54 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


James  Ayer  in  his  fifty-ninth  year,  with  auto- 
graph, Frontispiece 

Parents  of  James  Ayer,  from  portraits  painted 

in  1825  by  Brewster,  Facing  page  2 

Homestead,  Newfield,  Maine,  Facing  page  6 

Newfield  and  Neighborhood, 

Between  pages  10  and  11 

Meeting-house     and    Burial-ground,    New- 
field,  Maine,  Facing  page  14 

Martha     Bourne    Ayer    and    Son,     from     a 
daguerreotype,  taken  in  1851, 

Facing  page  26 

James   Ayer,   at  age  of  thirty-nine,   from  a 

portrait  by  Adna  Tenney,  Facing  page  28 


FAMILY. 


Dr.  James  Ayer,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
at  Newfield,  York  County,  Maine,  October  4,  18 15.  The 
village,  previous  to  its  incorporation  by  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  in  1794,  had  been  known  as  the  Washington 
Plantation.  It  is  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Portland,  bor- 
dering on  the  New  Hampshire  line,  and  was  divided  by 
the  Little  Ossipee  River  from  Shapleigh  on  the  south. 
It  adjoins  Limerick  on  the  east,  and  Parsonsfield  on  the 
north.  The  homestead  was  in  the  southeasterly  corner, 
the  most  thickly  settled  part  of  the  town,  which  con- 
tained in  all  about  twelve  hundred  inhabitants. 

His  father,  Dr.  James  Ayer,  for  whom  he  was  named, 
was  born  at  Buxton,  Maine,  September  26,  1781,  but 
at  an  early  age  removed  to  Bethel,  where  he  received  his 
education,  and  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Timothy  Carter, 
the  best-known  physician  in  that  vicinity.  Dr.  Carter 
was  highly  esteemed,  and  had  many  medical  pupils. 


2  Family. 

Dr.  Ayer,  senior,  on  completing  his  studies  in  1805, 
removed  to  Newfield,  where  he  began  the  practice 
of  medicine,  and  on  the  seventh  of  November  of  the 
same  year  married  Thirza  Mason,  of  Bethel,  New 
Hampshire. 

He  continued  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession 
at  Newfield  until  his  death,  a  period  of  twenty-nine  years. 

He  traced  his  descent  (being  sixth  in  line)  from  John 
Ayer,1  of  Salisbury,  a  planter  first  mentioned  in  1637, 
who  removed  to  Haverhill  in  1647  where  he  died  ten 
years  later,  leaving  nine  children. 

^he  following  is  a  more  complete  statement  of  the  ancestry  : 

I.  JOHN  AYER  (or  EYER)  of  Salisbury  1637,  planter,  removed 
to  Ipswich  in  1646,  and  to  Haverhill,  1647,  where  he  died  March  31, 

1657.     He    married  Hannah who  died  Oct.  8,  1688.     They 

left  nine  children  :  John,  Nathaniel,  Hannah,  Rebecca,  Mary,  Obadiah, 
Robert,  Thomas  and  PETER.  The  will  was  probated  at  the  court 
held  at  Hampton,  Oct.  6,  1657. 

II.  PETER  AYER,  (or  EYER)  Cornet,  of  Haverhill,  youngest 
child  of  JOHN  AYER,  born  1633  ;  married  Hannah  Allen  of  Haver- 
hill, Nov.  1,  1659.  He  was  a  Freeman  in  1666,  and  a  representative 
in  1683-5-6-9,  1690-5-6  and  8.  He  died  Jan.  2,  1699,  leaving  nine 
children :  Ruth,  Hannah,  Abigail,  Mary,  Martha,  SAMUEL,  William, 
Rachel  and  Ebenezer. 

III.  SAMUEL  AYER,  of  Haverhill,  the  Lieutenant,  sixth  child 
of   PETER,   born   Sept.  28,    1669,  died   Jan.  2,    1744.      Was    rep- 


?  2 

A  > 

oo  W 

r  O 

'  z 


Family.  3 

John  Ayer  is  mentioned  by  Mirick  as  one  of  the  thirty- 
two  landholders  of  Pentucket,  now  Haverhill,  in  1645. 
The  line  descended  through  Peter,  the  youngest  of  the 
children,  a  representative  from  Haverhill  for  several 
years,  who  died  January  2,  1699,  leaving  nine  chil- 
dren, the  sixth  of  whom  was  Samuel,  born  in  1669, 
died  in  1745.  In  1700,  according  to  Mirick,  "  Nearly 
one-third  of  the  inhabitants  of  Haverhill  were  named 
Ayer.  They  were  a  fearless,  athletic  race  of  men  and 
were  mostly  cultivators  of  the  soil."  Ebenezer,  born  in 
Haverhill  in  1705,  died  in  Salem,  New  Hampshire,  in 
1762,  was  the  fifth  child  of  Samuel.  His  son,  Joseph, 
born  in  Salem,  New  Hampshire,  May  23,  1746,  had  six 
children,  Dr.  James  Ayer,  senior,  being  the  fourth. 

resentative  in  1701.  Married  Elizabeth  Tuttle,  Nov.  21,  1693,  who 
died  Nov.  29,  1752.  They  had  eight  children:  Hannah,  Peter, 
Samuel,  William,  EBENEZER,  Elizabeth,  Simon,  Sarah. 

IV.  EBENEZER,  Lieutenant,  born  in  Haverhill  Feb.  18,  1705, 
fifth  child  of  SAMUEL,  married  Susanna  Kimball  Mar.  29,  1726.  She 
was  daughter  of  Robert  and  Susanna  (Atwood)  Kimball,  of  Bradford, 
Mass.;  born  March  25,  1707,  died  Sept.  19,  1749,  at  Salem,  N.  H. 
Lieut.  Ebenezer  Ayer  was  prominently  mentioned  in  the  Town 
Records  of  Salem,  New  Hampshire,  after  1736.  Of  their  children  I 
have  the  names  of  five  :  Ebenezer,  Timothy,  John,  JOSEPH,  Isaiah. 

By  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth ,  there  were  four  children  :  William, 

Elizabeth,  Samuel  and  Phillip.  He  died  at  Salem,  N.  H.,  March  3, 
1762.     The  widow  died  there  January  2,  1786. 


4  Family. 

Thirza  Mason,  his  wife,  was  the  daughter  of  Moses 
Mason,  who  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  probably  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill  as  a  Minute  Man,  and  later  serving 
as  one  of  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  under  Gen.  Stark. 
He  was  born  in  Newton,  Massachusetts,  in  1757,  married 
Eunice  Ayres,  and  removed  to  Dublin,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1780,  and  to  Bethel,  Maine,  in  1799,  representing  the 
latter  town  in  the  General  Court  from  1813  to  18 17. 

Moses  Mason,  Jr.,  was  the  fifth  in  line  from  Captain 
Hugh  Mason,  who  settled  at  Watertown,  Massachusetts, 

V.  JOSEPH,  son  of  EBENEZER  and  Susanna  (Kimball)  Ayer, 
born  May  23,  1746,  in  Salem,  N.  H.,  was  living  in  Pearsontown,  (now 
Standish,)  Me.,  when  he  married,  Oct.  3,  1775,  Eunice  Clark,  (daugh- 
ter of  James  Clark,)  who  was  born  Aug.  12,  1749.  They  removed  to 
Buxton,  Me.,  and  later  to  Brownfield  and  Bethel,  and  had  six  children  : 
Mary,  Samuel,  Jonathan,  JAMES,  Sarah,  Hugh. 

VI.  James,  fourth  child  of  JOSEPH,  born  in  Buxton,  Me.,  Sept. 
26,  1 781,  brought  up  in  Bethel,  removed  to  Newfield  in  1805, 
married  Thirza  Mason  Nov.  7,  1805,  died  in  Newfield  Jan.  23,  1834, 
leaving  six  children  (two  died  in  infancy)  :  Mary  A.,  Eunice,  Joseph 
Cullen,  JAMES,  Luther,  Monroe. 

[This  statement  has  been  gathered  from  the  following  sources  : 
I,  II,  III  and  IV  generations  from  original  Haverhill  records  carefully 
copied  by  Mr.  Alfred  Poor.  IV  generation  also  from  Salem,  N.  H., 
records,  copied  by  Mr.  James  Ayer,  of  that  town,  in  a  very  painstaking 
manner.  V  and  VI  generations  (principally)  from  the  old  family 
record  preserved  at  the  homestead  at  Newfield,  which  begins, 
"  Ebenezer  Ayer,  born  March,  1705,  died  March  3,  1762,"  correcting 
some  of  the  data  in  Lapham's  recent  History  of  Bethel,  Maine.] 


Family.  5 

in    1634.      Hugh  Mason'    was  very   prominent  in   town 
affairs,  was  representative  for  ten  years,  and  died  in  1678. 


1  The  following  is  taken  from  the  carefully  compiled  manuscript  of 
Mr.  Edward  Doublcday  Harris  gleaned  from  the  collections  of  the 
late  Thaddeus  William  Harris,  M.  D.,  of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

I.  CAPTAIN  HUGH  MASON,  born  1606  in  England,  sailed 
from  Ipswich  with  his  wife,  Esther,  (born  16 10),  in  the  ship  Francis, 
and  settled  in  Watertown,  Mass.,  in  1634.  He  was  a  Freeman  March 
4,  1634-5  ;  selectman  many  years  ;  deputy  to  general  court  ten  years  ; 
commissioned  captain  1653;  died  Oct.  10,  1678.  His  widow  died 
May  21,  1692.     They  had  three  sons  and  five  daughters. 

II.  JOHN,  fifth  child  but  eldest  son  of  HUGH,  born  at  Water- 
town  Jan.  1,  1644-5,  settled  at  Cambridge  Village,  (Newton).  He 
was  a  tanner;  constable  there  in  1679  '■>  selectman  five  years;  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  and  Abigail  Hammond  (born  May  6, 
1655,  died  Nov.  13,  1 7 15 ) .     Six  children. 

III.  DANIEL,  fourth  child  of  JOHN  ;  born  in  Newton ;  husband- 
man, lived  at  Lexington,  Sudbury  and  Charlestown.  His  first  wife  was 
Experience  Newcomb,  who  died  at  Charlestown,  Nov.  18,  1733; 
seven  children,  MOSES  being  the  sixth.  Second  wife  (married  in 
1 737 )  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Allen  ;  four  children. 

IV.  MOSES,  sixth  child  of  DANIEL;  born  at  Newton  Feb.  10, 
1728-9  ;  removed  to  Sherborn,  thence  to  Dublin,  N.H. ;  housewright ; 
married,  June  6,  1749,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Mary  Knapp, 
who  died  at  Bethel,  Me.,  July  2,  1802,  aged  73.  He  died  at  Dublin 
Oct.  1,  1775.     Ten  children. 

V.  MOSES,  Jr.,  fourth  child  of  MOSES,  born  at  Newton  April 
26,  1757.  Married  at  Brookfield,  Mass.,  June  20,  1780,  Eunice, 
daughter  of  Wm.  and  Rachel  Ayres,  and  settled,  a  farmer,  in  Dublin, 
N.  H.,  thence  removing  to  Bethel,  Maine  ;  represented  the  town  in 
the  general  court  1813-1817.     Died  at  Bethel  Oct.  1,  1836.    She  died 


6  Family. 

Thirza  Mason's  mother,  Eunice  Ayres,1  was  fifth 
in  the  line  of  descent  from  Captain  John  Ayres  who 
settled  at  Ipswich  in  1648.  It  is  not  known  that  any 
relationship  existed  between  the  pioneers  John  Ayer,  of 

February  4,  1846,  aged  84.  Eleven  children,  THIRZA  MASON, 
born  at  Dublin  July  3,  1781,  being  the  eldest.  She  married  Nov.  7, 
1805,  JAMES  AYER,  M.D.,  of  Newfield ;  died  Oct.  17,  1864. 

The  New  Hampshire  records  mention  that  Moses  Mason  was  a  soldier  in  Captain 
Joseph  Parker's  company,  Colonel  Enoch  Hale's  regiment,  which  joined  the  North- 
ern army  at  Ticonderoga,  July  18,  1776.  In  1777  he  enlisted  from  Dublin,  again 
under  Col.  Hale.     There  is  a  record  that  he  was  in  service  in  1781. 


1  Ancestry  of  Eunice  Ayres,  wife  of  Moses  Mason,  from  "A  Record 
of  the  descendants  of  Captain  John  Ayres  of  Brookfield,  Mass.,"  by 
William   H.  Whitmore,  Esq.,  Record  Commissioner  of  Boston  : 

I.  CAPTAIN  JOHN  AYRES,  Ipswich,  1648,  married  Susanna 
Symonds,  daughter  of  Mark  Symonds  of  Ipswich.  He  removed  to 
Brookfield  November,  1672,  and  with  seven  others  was  killed  by 
Indians,  Aug.  3,  1675,  m  tne  fight  at  Brookfield.  He  left  eight 
children.     After  his  death  the  family  returned  to  Ipswich. 

II.  SAMUEL  of  NEWBURY,  second  child  of  JOHN,  married, 
1677,  Abigail  Fellows.     Ten  children. 

III.  JABEZ  of  NEWBURY,  born  Dec.  27,  1690,  sixth  child  of 
SAMUEL,  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Henry  Kimball.  Removed 
to  Brookfield  in  172 1.     Seven  children. 

IV.  WILLIAM,  LIEUTENANT  OF  BROOKFIELD,  third 
child  of  JABEZ,  born  Feb.  28,  1723-4,  married  Rachel  Barns  July  3, 
1753.  He  died  Dec.  31,  1814;  widow  died  May  24,  1817.  They 
had  fourteen  children,  the  fourth  of  whom,  EUNICE,  was  born  Jan. 
24,  1 76 1.     She  married  MOSES  MASON. 


Family.  7 

Salisbury,  and  Captain  John  Ayres,  of  Ipswich.  The 
best  authorities  regard  the  Ayer  and  Ayres  families  as 
distinct.  The  Ayres  family  afterward  resided  at  New- 
bur)'  and  Brookfield. 

My  father  had  good  reason  for  the  affectionate  regard 
in  which  he  held  both  parents.  In  after  life  he  often 
referred  to  their  good  examples  and  to  the  happy 
influences  of  their  religious  home  life. 

His  father  was  especially  kind  and  indulgent,  ever 
willing  to  labor  for  the  support  and  good  of  his  family, 
and  especially  desirous  to  give  his  children  the  best  edu- 
cation in  his  power. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Maine  Medical  Society,  and 
during  his  life  had  several  students  in  medicine.  He 
was  an  industrious,  and  successful  practitioner,  but  his 
income  was  limited. 

He  was  public  spirited  and  held  positions  of  trust  in 
the  county. 

Of  the  six  children  who  lived  to  grow  up  my  father 
was  the  fourth.  Two  survive  him,  Luther,  who  still 
resides  at  the  homestead,  and  Monroe,  a  retired  business 
man  in  Boston. 


CHILDHOOD  AND   SCHOOL  LIFE. 


His  childhood  was  that  of  a  healthy  country  boy. 
His  earliest  school  recollections  dated  back  to  the 
opening  of  the  "new  school  house"  in  his  part  of  the 
town.  It  was  unfurnished,  and  the  seats,  which  were 
made  of  planks  laid  upon  short  logs,  were  very  uncom- 
fortable for  little  boys.  He  never  forgot,  in  after  life, 
how  tired  he  became  from  sitting,  and  how  long  the  days 
appeared.  In  winter  it  was  the  custom  to  have  a  school- 
master, but  in  summer  a  school-mistress. 

This  building  served  as  the  meeting-house  for  his  part 
of  the  town  during  his  boyhood.  There  were  then  no  reg- 
ular religious  services  on  Sunday,  but  there  was 
occasional  preaching  by  itinerant  ministers.  His  father 
took  an  active  interest  in  these  services  and  was  in  the 
habit  of  leading  the  singing. 

At  the  age  of  nine  years  he  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
drowning  in  the  Little  Ossipee  River.    He  said  that  at 

8 


Childhood  and  School  Life.  9 

first  there  was  struggling  and  suffering,  which  were  less 
marked  in  going  down  the  second  time,  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  a  dreamy  and  unconscious  state  at  the  time  he 
was  rescued  by  his  companions. 

Shortly  after  this  event  he  took  his  first  journey,  a  trip 
to  Portland.  His  father  drove  in  a  high  yellow  gig 
which  he  used  on  his  professional  visits,  followed  by 
the  chaise  containing  his  mother  and  himself. 

As  they  crossed  the  Saco  River,  they  were  surprised 
to  find  it  turbid  and  enormously  swollen.  On  reaching 
Portland  they  learned  that  this  was  due  to  an  avalanche 
in  the  White  Mountains  which  had  destroyed  the  Willey 
family,  —  one  of  the  notable  catastrophes  of  that  period. 
This  long  anticipated  trip  was  to  him  a  revelation.  Lon- 
don, with  its  four  million  inhabitants,  did  not  rival  in  after 
life  the  importance  of  Portland  as  seen  by  his  young  eyes. 

On  the  return  from  this  trip  he  began  his  studies  with 
a  college  course  in  view. 

In  the  summer  of  1826  he  became  a  pupil  at  the  well- 
known  Limerick  Academy,  four  miles  from  home,  room- 
ing with  his  brother  Joseph  Cullen,  who  was  four  years 
his  senior.  The  brothers  returned  home  every  Saturday 
night  to  remain  with  their  parents  till  the  evening  of 
Sunday.     They  boarded  at  Limerick  with  Elder  Samuel 


io  Childhood  and  School  Life. 

Burbank,  the  first  editor  of  The  Morning  Star,  a  religious 
paper  now  published  in  Boston. 

When  the  fall  term  closed,  he  returned  home  and 
attended  the  Newfield  district  school  during  the  winter. 
At  the  same  time  he  studied  Latin  under  the  instruction 
of  Hon.  Nathan  Clifford,  late  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  who  had  recently  come  to 
Newfield  to  begin  the  practice  of  law  and  occupied  a 
room  in  his  father's  house  for  an  office.  Shortly  after- 
ward Mr.  Clifford  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature, 
and  in  1834  became  Attorney-General  of  Maine. 

The  following  summer  found  him  again  at  Limerick 
Academy.  The  preceptor  was  Mr.  Isaac  Holton  of 
South  Berwick.  At  that  time  Daniel  R.  Goodwin 
was  an  advanced  scholar  and  assisted  the  preceptor, 
giving  evidence,  while  he  was  preparing  for  college, 
of  scholarly  attainments  which  were  afterward  realized. 
Later,  Asa  D.  Smith,  a  recent  graduate  of  Dartmouth 
College,  and  afterward  its  president,  became  preceptor 
of  the  Academy. 

All  these  instructors  labored  assiduously  for  the 
spiritual  good  as  well  as  for  the  intellectual  progress  of 
their  students,  and  through  their  influence  my  father 
received   lasting    impressions.     Many  of  his  class  at  an 


Limerick. 


. 


NEWFIELD    ANI 


Shapleigh 


Homestc:ul.  Little  Ossipec   River, 

isl  Church.  Methodist  Church. 


JEIGHBORHOOD. 


Childhood  and  School  Life.  1 1 

early  age  became  church  members,  he  himself  joining 
the  Congregational  church  at  West  Newfield  under  the 
pastoral  charge  of  Reverend  David  P.  Smith. 

He  continued  his  studies  at  Limerick  Academy  in 
the  summer  and  fall  months  and  at  the  Newfield  school 
during  the  winter,  until  he  went  to  Brunswick  in  the 
spring  of  183 1,  and  took  private  lessons  with  Daniel 
R.  Goodwin  who  was  then  a  senior  and  a  class-mate  of 
his  brother. 

By  close  application  to  work  he  was  able  at  Com- 
mencement, the  second  week  in  September,  1831,  to 
pass  the  studies  required  for  admission  to  the  Freshman 
class. 


COLLEGE   LIFE. 


A  vacation  of  a  few  weeks  followed  Commencement. 
He  occupied  this  time  industriously  in  reviewing  the 
studies  of  the  Freshman  year  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fall  term  he  succeeded  in  passing  a  successful  examina- 
tion in  all  the  Freshman  studies,  thus  beginning  his 
college  course  a  full-fledged  Sophomore. 

After  his  brother's  graduation  Theodore  H.  Jewett,  of 
South  Berwick,  became  his  chum. 

There  were  thirty-four  members  of  the  Bowdoin  class 
of '34,  and  many  of  them  became  men  of  note.  He  was 
particularly  intimate  with  Dr.  Jewett  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  September  20,  1878,  and  with 
Reverend  Dr.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  founder  of  Robert  College, 
Constantinople,  who  survives  him. 

He  was  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  class,  in  which 
he  took  a  fair  rank.  All  the  reports  which  I  have  seen 
are  worded  as  follows: — "  Rank  of  James  Ayer,  satis- 
factory ;  attention  to  studies,  good ;  deportment, 
correct." 


College  Life.  13 

He  often  referred  in  after-life  to  the  able  scholars 
composing  the  faculty  of  Bowdoin  College. 

The  death  of  President  Packard  in  1884  brought  out  a 
tribute  from  the  pen  of  Reverend  Cyrus  A.  Bartol,  of 
the  class  of  1832,  from  which  I  quote  a  few  lines  to  show 
the  esteem  in  which  the  faculty  was  held : 

"  Professor  Packard  made  that  impression  on  me  of 
love  and  purity  which  puts  me  forever  in  his  debt.  His 
is  the  last  to  disappear  of  the  forms  of  the  Bowdoin 
instructors,  the  memory  of  all  of  whom  is  still  to  me  holy 
and  dear.  There  was  the  saintly  Upham,  whose  humility 
hardly  lifted  his  eyelids  or  allowed  aught  but  softness  in 
his  accents,  as  he  initiated  us  into  the  Latin  tongue. 
There  was  Smyth,  earnest,  almost  impetuous,  but  candid 
as  the  day,  cherished  in  our  hearts  because  his  own  was 
so  warm.  There  was  Newman,  adding  to  his  rhetorical 
lessons  a  personal  grace.  There  was  Cleaveland, 
describing  the  cold  minerals,  his  temperament  of  genius 
a  flame  of  fire.  There,  too,  was  Longfellow,  in  his  bloom 
of  youth,  promise  of  success  and  a  fame  before  him,  a 
fortune  in  this  and  other  lands  unsurpassed.  They  have 
all  entered  into  rest,  peace  and  joy." 

He  assisted  in  meeting  his  college  expenses  by 
teaching  school  in  the  long  winter  vacation. 


14  College  Life. 

At  that  time  certificates  were  given  by  the  "  Superin- 
tending School  Committee,"  of  a  town  when  an  applicant 
had  passed  a  successful  examination  for  the  position  of 
teacher.  I  find  many  of  these  certificates,  which 
he  had  received,  stating  that  he  had  the  "  qualifica- 
tions to  instruct  youth  in  reading  and  writing  the  English 
language  grammatically,  in  arithmetic  and  in  other 
branches  of  learning  taught  in  the  public  schools,  as 
required  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Maine." 

In  January,  1834,  during  the  winter  vacation  of  his  senior 
year  while  he  was  teaching  school  at  West  Brunswick, 
Mr.  Caleb  R.  Ayer  came  for  him  in  haste  from  New- 
field,  when  the  roads  were  drifted  with  deep  snow,  to 
inform  him  of  his  father's  dangerous  illness,  and  to  take 
him  home  immediately. 

After  a  long  day's  journey  in  extremely  cold  weather 
he  reached  home  to  find  his  father  delirious  with  epidemic 
erysipelas,  which  had  been  contracted  in  his  practice.  He 
lingered  five  days,  dying  January  23,  1834,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-two  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  neighboring  burial- 
ground.1    The  new   meeting-house,    in  the   building  of 

lrThe  Burial-ground  was  first  used  in  1822.  The  Meeting-house 
was  built  in  1833  by  members  of  different  denominations.  It  is 
now  known  as  the  Free  Baptist  Church. 


MEETING-HOUSE     AND     BURIAL-GROUND,     NEWFIELD,     MAINE. 


College  Life.  15 

which  he  had  been  especially  interested  during  the  last 
few  months  of  his  life,  adjoins  the  burial-ground,  but  was 
not  dedicated  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

The  widow  continued  to  reside  at  the  homestead  up 
to  the  time  of  her  death,  October  17,  1864. 

My  father  did  not  return  to  take  charge  of  his  school 
after  his  father's  funeral,  but  began  the  regular  college 
term  in  the  spring  and  took  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts,  early  in  September,  1834. 


MEDICAL   STUDIES. 


The  loss  of  a  good  father  was  a  severe  shock  to  him 
and  made  a  decided  change  in  his  plans  for  the  future. 
Although  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  immediately, 
under  the  instruction  of  his  father's  successor,  he  had  to 
rely  in  a  great  measure  upon  his  own  resources,  and  his 
medical  studies  were  interrupted  during  the  next  three 
years  by  the  necessity  of  earning  as  much  as  possible 
by  teaching. 

During  this  time  he  was  preceptor  of  Limerick  Acad- 
emy for  one  season,  and  of  a  private  Academy  in  Wake- 
field, New  Hampshire,  a  season. 

In  August,  1837,  he  took  his  first  course  of  medical 
lectures  at  Dartmouth  College,  his  friend  Theodore  H. 
Jewett,  who  had  succeeded  him  as  preceptor  of  Limerick 
Academy,  rejoining  him  there  and  again  becoming  his 
room-mate. 

The  following  year  he  attended  his  second  medical 
course  of  lectures,  this  time  at  Bowdoin  College.     He 

16 


Medical  Studies,  17 

was  appointed  assistant  librarian  under  Professor  Cleave- 
land,  who  was  librarian  as  well  as  professor  of  chemistry 
and  of  materia  medica. 

Dr.  Joseph  Roby  was  professor  of  anatomy  and 
surgery;  Dr.  James  McKeen,  professor  of  theory  and 
practice  of  physic,  obstetrics  and  medical  jurisprudence. 

Shortly  after  the  end  of  this  course,  while  continuing 
his  studies  at  home,  he  was  invited  by  friends  living 
in  Centre  Lebanon,  Maine,  to  begin  practice  there, 
although  he  was  not  quite  ready  to  take  his  medical 
degree.  Centre  Lebanon  was  a  farming  district  with  no 
physician  nearer  than  six  miles  on  the  east  and  four  on 
the  west.  It  was  a  very  healthy  community ;  profes- 
sional calls  were  few  and  fees  small.  The  usual  fee  for 
a  visit  and  medicine  was  fifty  cents,  and  for  travel 
a  shilling  a  mile  one  way;  for  venesection  twenty-five 
cents  ;  for  tooth  extraction  thirteen  cents.  He  taught 
the  district  school,  receiving  twenty-two  dollars  a  month 
and  board,  and  had  a  few  private  pupils  in  the  languages 
at  two  to  three  shillings  a  week. 

He  was  thus  enabled  to  "  splice  out  the  income,"  and 
saw  his  way  clear,  in  February,  1839,  to  return  to 
Bowdoin  College  for  his  final  course  of  medical  lectures, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  term,  May  14,  1839,  he  received 
his  degree  from  the  Medical  School  of  Maine. 


EARLY   PROFESSIONAL   LIFE. 
1839  - 1846. 

After  graduation  he  returned  to  Centre  Lebanon  and 
continued  to  practice  medicine  there  for  another  year. 
He  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Centre  Lebanon, 
September  25,  1839.  The  commission  was  signed 
by  Amos  Kendall,  Postmaster-General.  At  the  end 
of  the  year  the  necessity  of  having  a  more  lucrative 
field  was  apparent  and,  with  the  utmost  friendship 
on  every  side,  he  left  May  1,  1840,  on  horseback  for 
the  village  of  Monument,  Massachusetts,  now  included 
within  the  limits  of  Bourne,  but  then  a  part  of 
Sandwich.  He  tarried  in  Boston  on  the  way  to  visit  his 
brother,  who  was  already  established  in  practice,  and  to 
provide  himself  with  instruments  and  a  supply  of  medicine. 

In  1840  the  regular  means  of  communication  between 
Boston  and  the  Cape  were  either  by  stages  which 
went  only  to  Plymouth  or  by  sailing  packets  twice  a  week 
to  Sandwich. 

He  was  cordially  received  in  his  new  home,  attending 
to  all  the  available  practice  far  and  near.     He  made  his 

18 


Early  Professional  Life.  19 

professional  visits  on  horse-back,  using  the  same  horse 
he  had  ridden  from  Maine,  carrying  his  medicines  and 
instruments  in  a  saddle-bag. 

He  joined  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  July  1, 
1840,  and  later  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  Barnstable 
District  Medical  Society.  His  first  published  medical 
communication  which  I  am  able  to  find  is  the  report  in 
the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  of  a  meeting  of 
this  society  at  the  court  house  in  Barnstable  in  May, 
1844,  when  several  interesting  cases  were  discussed. 

He  remained  for  three  years  at  Monument  and  then 
removed  to  Sandwich  where  he  was  benefitted  by  a 
larger  population,  and  at  the  same  time  was  able  to 
retain  his  practice  at  Monument. 

Shortly  after  his  removal,  November  9,  1843,  he  married 
Martha,  seventh  child  of  Benjamin  and  Lucinda  (Bourne) 
Bourne,  of  Monument.  Her  father,  born  June  1,  1784, 
was  a  representative  from  the  town  for  many  years,  and 
died  December  1,  1863,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years. 
My  mother  was  seventh  in  line  from  Richard  Bourne,1 

during  the  long  reach  from  Scraggy  Neck  to  Chapoquoit  Harbor, 
a  well-informed  companion  talks  of  the  Indians  who  once  lived  on 
these  shores,  and  whose  soft  language  is  heard  in  the  names  of  num- 
berless  localities.     They  belonged  to  the  Mashpee  tribe,  whose  few 


20  Early  Professional  Life. 

who  was  born  in  England  and  settled  in  Sandwich,  acquir- 
ing the  Indian  language  as  far  back  as  1658.  He  was 
ordained  pastor  of  the  Indian  church  at  Mashpee,  August 
17,  1670,  by  the  missionaries  John  Eliot  and  John  Cotton 
of  Plymouth.  He  died  at  Sandwich  in  1682,  leaving  four 
children,  the  sons  of  his  first  wife,  Bethsheba  Hallet,  from 
the  eldest  of  whom,  Job  of  Sandwich,  the  line  descended 
in  primogeniture  through  son  and  grandson,  both  named 
Timothy,  to  Benjamin,  (1744- 1827),  who  graduated  from 
Harvard  College  in    1764,  and  became    a  physician    of 


survivors  still  live  in  the  town  of  that  name,  some  ten  miles  to  the 
east.  To  them  went,  in  1658, an  earnest  missionary,  Richard  Bourne, 
a  companion  of  John  Eliot,  the  apostle  to  the  Indians.  He  had 
gathered  at  Mashpee  by  1670  a  church  of  Christian  Indians  which 
has  lasted  to  this  day.  The  town  of  Bourne,  along  whose  border  we 
have  just  passed  is  named  for  Jonathan  Bourne,  a  descendant  of 
Richard.  The  Cape  Indians  were  kept  at  peace  with  the  whites 
during  King  Philip's  war  by  the  labors  of  the  Christian  ministers 
among  them, —  Bourne  at  Mashpee,  Treat  at  Eastham,  Thornton 
at  Yarmouth,  Tupper  at  Sandwich,  and  the  Mayhews,  father  and  son, 
at  Martha's  Vineyard.  Safe  at  home,  the  Cape  colonists  sent  forces 
to  the  aid  of  their  fellows.  Had  the  numerous  tribes  of  the  Cape 
first  massacred  the  few  English  there,  and  joined  King  Philip,  who 
can  say  but  the  result  would  have  been  the  extermination  of  the  out- 
numbered Europeans  ?  It  was  the  missionaries  as  well  as  the  soldiers 
who  saved  New  England  !  " — [Edwin  Fiske  Kimball.  New  England 
Magazine,  September,  1892. 


Early  Professional  Life.  21 

wide  repute  in  Sandwich  and  likewise  well  known  as  a 
scholar.  His  eldest  child,  Benjamin,  was  the  father  of 
ten  children,  of  whom  my  mother,  Martha,  born  July  14, 
1822,  was  the  seventh. 

The  young  married  couple  lived  happy  and  uneventful 
lives  at  Sandwich.  My  father  confined  himself  very 
closely  to  his  practice,  occasionally,  however,  taking  a 
short  trip  to  Boston,  attending  the  annual  meetings  of 
the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  when  possible.  In 
addition  to  his  practice  he  was  officially  interested  in  all 
educational  matters  pertaining  to  the  town. 

In  January,  1846,  he  was  summoned  to  Boston  on 
account  of  the  dangerous  illness  of  his  brother,  whom  he 
found  suffering  from  pleuro-pneumonia  of  a  typhoidal 
type  which  terminated  fatally  in  a  few  days. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  from  a  sketch  of  my 
uncle's  life  in  the  History  of  Bowdoin  College,  by 
Nehemiah  Cleaveland,  edited  and  compiled  by  Alpheus 
Spring  Packard  : 

"Joseph  C.  Ayer  was  the  son  of  Dr.  James  Ayer  of 
Newfield.  He  was  a  modest  youth,  fond  of  innocent 
sport,  genial  and  obliging  in  disposition,  and  faithful  in 
his  friendships.  *  *  *  *  *  His  medical  studies 
begun  with  his  father,  were  completed  in  Boston,  where 


22  Early  Professional  Life. 

soon  after  he  married  and  settled.  '  He  was  fond  of 
medical  inquiry  in  all  its  departments,  but  especially  so 
of  anatomy  and  surgery.  Ever  attentive  to  the  calls  of 
his  profession  and  the  impulses  of  humanity,  not  only  his 
professional  skill  but  his  warmest  sympathies  were 
enlisted  in  behalf  of  his  patients.'  Dr.  Ayer  was  not 
merely  a  medical  man,  he  soon  became  known  as  an 
enlightened  and  public-spirited  citizen,  and  his  services 
as  such  were  claimed.  'He  held  various  honorable  offices 
in  the  gift  of  the  city  and  discharged  their  duties  with 
energy  and  fidelity.'  The  year  before  he  died  he  was  one 
of  the  aldermen  of  Boston.  *  *  *  *  *  His  remains 
lie  near  the  tomb  of  the  Mathers  in  the  ancient  burial- 
ground  on  Copp's  Hill." 

He  graduated  at  the  Harvard  Medical  School  in  1836, 
joining  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  the  same 
year. 


LIFE    IN    BOSTON, 
i 846- i 860. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  his  brother  my  father 
removed  to  Boston,  boarding  at  first  at  204  Hanover  street 
between  Prince  and  North  Bennet  streets;  six  months  later 
taking  with  Reverend  Phineas  Stowe,  the  well  known 
Bethel  pastor,  a  new  house  at  the  corner  of  Prince  and 
Hanover  streets.  He  remained  in  this  interesting  neigh- 
borhood, which  is  historically  associated  with  the  Mathers, 
Governor  Hutchinson,  Sir  Henry  Frankland  and  Paul 
Revere,  during  his  fifteen  years'  residence  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city. 

When  he  came  to  Boston  Doctors  Ephraim  Buck  and 
Henry  G.  Clark  were  liis  nearest  professional  neighbors. 
The  medical  centre  was  at  that  time  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Summer  street.  Boston  then  contained  about  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  The  Back  Bay 
flowed  to  the  westerly  side  of  Charles  street.  Tremont 
street    from    the    Boston  &  Albany    railroad   bridge  to 

23 


24  Life  in  Bostoit. 

Northampton  street  had  not  as  yet  been  laid  out  as  a 
public  thoroughfare.  Little  had  been  done  at  this  time 
in  building  up  the  South  End. 

The  suburbs  were  connected  with  the  city  by  lines  of 
omnibuses.  "  Hourlies"  ran  to  Cambridge  and  Charles- 
town,  three  trips  daily  were  made  to  Jamaica  Plain  and 
Brighton. 

My  father  became  an  active  physician  from  the  start. 
Although  the  fees  were  small,  one  dollar  and  frequently 
but  fifty  cents  being  received  for  a  professional  visit, 
yet  he  was  astonished  by  his  success.  Many  of  his 
brother's  patients  continued  with  him,  and  he  began  his 
forty-one  years  of  active  city  practice  with  a  zeal  which 
never  abated. 

As  the  tide  of  population  carried  his  patients  to  the 
newer  parts  of  the  city  and  to  the  suburbs  he  had  an 
excellent  opportunity  in  his  long  daily  drives  to  watch 
the  progress  of  the  city's  growth.  While  the  Back  Bay 
was  being  filled  in  he  was  constantly  reminded  as  he 
sought  out  the  unfinished  streets  in  making  his  long 
rounds,  of  the  sandy  drives  he  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  taking  on  Cape  Cod. 

His  interest  in  schools  continued.  In  1847  and  "1848 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Boston  school  committee. 


Life  in  Boston.  25 

He  early  became  a  regular  attendant  at  the  Salem  street 
church  under  the  ministration  of  the  Reverend  Dr. 
Edward  Beechcr,1  and  thereto  transferred  his  membership 
in  1848  from  the  Congregational  Church  in  Lebanon, 
Maine.  He  was  closely  identified  with  all  the  interests  of 
the  church  during  the  pastorates  of  Dr.  Beecher  and  of 
his  successor,  Reverend  Dr.  George  W.  Field,  who  was 
there  installed  as  minister  in  October,  1856,  and  now 
resides  in  Bangor,  Maine. 

The  severe  epidemic  of  Asiatic  cholera  in  1849  found 
favorable  circumstances  for  development  in  the  narrow 
streets  and  lanes  of  the  old  part  of  the  city,  and  kept 
him  especially  busy  during  the  whole  summer.  He 
noted  that  the  intemperate  generally  succumbed  to  the 
disease,  and  that  as  a  rule  the  crisis  was  reached  and 
the  case  decided  in  twenty-four  hours.  He  saw  a  great 
many  cases  of  cholera  in  the  epidemic  of  1854,  though  as 
a  rule  they  were  less  severe.2 

1  Reverend  Dr.  Edward  Beecher,  the  oldest  surviving  member  of 
the  Beecher  family,  entered  upon  his  ninetieth  year  yesterday.  He 
is  one  of  six  sons,  and  a  brother  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  He  is 
spending  a  serene  old  age  in  Brooklyn,  after  fifty  years  of  active  life 
as  preacher,  teacher,  editor,  college  president  and  author. — [Boston 
Evening  Transcript,  August  29,  1892. 

2  He  reported  two  deaths  from  cholera  in  the  light  epidemic  which 
occurred  in  1866. 


26  Life  in  Boston. 

He  was  a  Consulting  Physician1  of  the  city  of  Boston, 
annually  re-elected  from  1854  to  i860  inclusive.  Ques- 
tions connected  with  contagious  disease  were  always  of 
special  interest  to  him.  In  April,  1858,  he  attended  the 
quarantine  convention  in  Baltimore  as  a  delegate,  and 
one  year  later  the  convention  in  New  York. 

He  was  first  chosen  a  councillor  of  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society2  in  May,  1851,  and  was  re-elected  thirty- 
eight  successive  years. 

Three  years  after  his  removal  to  Boston,  January  6, 
1849,  the  first  child,  James  Bourne  Ayer,  was  born,  and 

1  The  consulting  physicians  during  his  term  of  service  were  : 

1854,  (election  May  11,)  Drs.  John  C.Warren,  Jacob  Bigelow, 
George  Hayward,  Zabdiel  B.  Adams,  James  Ayer. 

1855,  Drs.  John  C.Warren  (died  May  4,  1856),  Jacob  Bigelow, 
George  Hayward,  James  Ayer,  D.  McBean  Thaxter,  Jr. 

1 85 6- 1 860,  Drs.  Jacob  Bigelow,  George  Hayward,  James  Ayer, 
John  Jeffries,  D.  H.  Storer. 

2  The  list  of  councillors  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society, 
Suffolk  District  Branch,  in  1851  was  as  follows:  Drs.  J.  Ware,  J. 
Bigelow,  Z.  B.  Adams,  S.  D.  Townsend,  J.  Homans,  G.  Hayward,  E. 
Reynolds,  J.  Jeffries,  D.  H.  Storer,  S.  Morrill,  A.  A.  Watson,  M.  S. 
Perry,  D.  Harwood,  A.  A.  Gould,  H.  Dyer,  C.  H.  Stedman,  G.  Bart- 
lett,  J.  Odin,  Jr.,  N.  B.  Shurleff,  C.  Gordon,  H.  I.  Bowditch,  H.  G. 
Clark,  Charles  Chase,  G.  A.  Bethune,  C.  E.  Ware,  J.  Ayer,  J.  A. 
Stevens,  W.  T.  Parker,  E.  H.  Clarke. 


MARTHA     BOURNE    AYER     AND     SON. 


Life  in  Boston.  27 

November  18,  1850,  another  son,  Frederick  Bourne 
Ayer,  who  died  January  20,  1853. 

The  beloved  wife  and  mother  survived  the  death  of 
this  son  less  than  three  years.  She  died  September. 29, 
1855,  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  her  age,  and  was  buried 
at  Mount  Auburn.  I  was  old  enough  to  recognize  her 
lovely  character,  and  in  some  slight  measure  to  be 
conscious  of  the  great  loss  which  had  fallen  upon  the 
family.  In  referring  to  her  I  quote  from  a  tribute  to  her 
memory  in  The  Congregationalist,  October  19,  1855  : 

*  «•  -x-  <<  jn  a  fami}y  circle  of  ten  children,  all  arrived 
at  adult  age,  this  was  the  first  link  broken  from  the  social 
chain.  Throughout  her  sickness,  alike  exhausting  to 
flesh  and  spirits,  her  mental  vigor  remained  unimpaired  ; 
and  her  patience  proved  equal  to  the  exactions  of 
remorseless  disease.     *     *     * 

"  Possessed  of  cheerful  disposition  and  great  amiability 
of  character,  she  ever  studied  the  happiness  of  her 
family  and  those  around  her.  Deeply  conscientious,  her 
regard  for  truth  was  most  scrupulous.  Faithful  in  attach- 
ments, winning  in  manners,  though  retiring  —  a  large 
circle  of  friends  were  strongly  attached  to  her. 

"In  the  winter  of  1852,  during  the  revival  season  in 
this  city,  her  attention  was  specially  directed  to  the  sub- 


28  Life  in  Boston. 

ject  of  personal  religion.  These  convictions  resulted  in 
the  indulgence  of  a  Christian  hope;  after  careful  self- 
examination  she  united  with  Reverend  Dr.  Beecher's 
church  in  July  following.  The  consolations  of  religion 
sustained  her  in  the  trying  hours  of  sickness.     *     *     * 

"In  all  the  relations  of  life  she  was  eminently  faithful 
and  exemplary  ;  unobtrusive  in  manner,  her  merits  were 
fully  appreciated  only  by  that  immediate  circle  of  friends 
whose  position  enabled  them  to  know  her  worth.  As  a 
wife,  firmly  attached  to  the  objects  of  an  undying  love  ; 
as  a  daughter  and  sister  dutiful  and  affectionate ;  as  a 
Christian,  diligently  studying  her  duty  in  the  Word  of 
God,  and  illustrating  the  sincerity  of  her  professions  by 
acts  of  kindness  and  benevolence. 

"  Her-death  bed  was  marked  by  the  calmness  and 
hope  derived  from  strong  religious  faith." 

The  fifteen  years  which  my  father  spent  at  the  North 
End  were  those  of  untiring  work,  as  it  was  his  rule  never 
to  refuse  any  summons  by  day  or  night.  Many  were 
the  emergencies  to  which  he  was  called  —  to  ships  in  the 
harbor  —  to  the  police  station  in  cases  of  sudden  sick- 
ness, assaults  and  accidents,  and  very  frequently  was  he 
summoned  into    court  as  a  medical    witness.     He   was 


JAMES     AYER     AT     AGE     OF    THIRTY-NINE. 


Life  in  Boston.  29 

liable  to  be  called  out  of  bed  every  night  in  the  week, 
but  owing  to  his  natural  strength  and  vigor,  his  cheerful 
and  even  temperament,  his  methodical  habit  and  fond- 
ness for  work,  he  always  appeared  fresh  by  day  and 
rarely  gave  evidence  that  he  was  overworked. 

He  had  the  "cheerful  and  serene  countenance"  on 
which  Dr.  Holmes  lays  so  much  stress.  He  was 
naturally  optimistic  and  always  looked  out  for  favorable 
symptoms,  no  matter  how  discouraging  the  case. 
"Never  cross  a  river  until  you  come  to  it"  was  a 
favorite  maxim  with  him.  It  was  remarkable  how  easily 
he  could  himself  throw  off  care,  and  how  helpful  the 
tendency  to  look  upon  the  bright  side  proved  to  him  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Toward  the  end  of  his  residence  in  this  part  of  the 
city  his  friend  and  neighbor  Dr.  Ephraim  Buck  died 
on  January  2,  1859. 


LIFE  IN  BOSTON. 
1860-1877. 

In  the  fall  of  i860,  following  the  drift  of  population, 
he  removed  to  the  West  End,  leasing  the  house,  num- 
ber 9  Staniford  street,  for  five  years.  Here  he  had  the 
companionship  of  many  congenial  neighbors,  among 
whom  was  Reverend  Dr.  Edward  N.  Kirk,  whose  intimate 
friendship  he  afterward  enjoyed. 

In  1864  he  transferred  his  connection  to  Mount  Vernon 
Church,  continuing  his  membership  till  the  death  of  Dr. 
Kirk,  March  27,  1874,  and  through  the  rest  of  his  life 
with  Reverend  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Herrick,  who  was  equally 
valued  as  friend  and  pastor.  Here  he  was  as  active  a 
member  as  he  had  been  at  Salem  Street  church.  For 
many  years  he  was  treasurer  of  the  society. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  Discharged  Soldiers'  Home,  serving  as 
Visiting  Physician  from  the  time  of  its  establishment, 
July  4,  1862,  till  September  18,  1863,  and  continuing 
during  the  following  seven  years  as  a  member  of  the 
executive  committee.     Dr.  Richard  M.  Hodges  was  the 

30 


Life  in  Boston.  31 

Consulting  Surgeon.  Dr.  Leonard  R.  Sheldon  was  asso- 
ciated with  my  father  during  the  latter  part  of  his  service, 
and  continued  as  Visiting  Physician  several  years  with  Dr. 
John  A.  Lamson  who  succeeded  my  father.  Dr.  Arthur 
H.  Nichols  was  the  House  Surgeon  during  my  father's 
service. 

The  Home  was  established  through  the  efforts  of  Rev- 
erend Phineas  Stowe  of  the  Seamen's  Bethel.1  At  first 
it  was  located  in  a  large  warehouse,  the  free  use  of  which 
had  been  granted  by  a  benevolent  merchant.  July  4, 
1862,  the  building  which  had  been  occupied  by  the 
Lying-in  Hospital  a  few  years  previously  on  West 
Springfield  street  was  dedicated  to  the  use  of  the  Home. 
The  first  annual  report  states:  "The  value  and  extent  of 
the  gratuitous  services  of  the  attendant  physicians  kindly 
volunteered  by  them,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
forty  persons  have  at  one  time  been  under  regular  and 
immediate  medical  treatment,  while  nearly  the  whole 
number  of  inmates  have  required  more  or  less  profes- 
sional advice  and  care." 

In  1863  my  father,  with  other  Boston  physicians,  visited 
the  hospitals  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  behalf  of 
the  United    States    Sanitary  Commission. 

1  Daniel  Denny,  Esquire. 


32  Life  in  Boston. 

May  1 8,  1864,  he  became  a  trustee  of  the  Boston 
Lying-in  Hospital  Corporation.  At  that  time  there  was 
no  hospital  building,  but  a  portion  of  the  income  was 
used  for  the  benefit  of  appropriate  patients  who  were  in 
need.  His  interest  in  the  hospital  after  the  buildings 
were  purchased  in  McLean  street,  in  1873,  steadily 
increased  as  time  went  on.  For  twenty-three  years  he 
was  trustee  and  in  1887  was  elected  vice-president. 

July  15,  1862,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  (Bourne) 
Storms,  sister  of  Martha  his  first  wife.  A  western  trip 
was  taken  at  that  time.  She  survives  him  residing  in 
Boston. 

In  the  fall  of  1865  he  purchased  house  number  6  Han- 
cock street,  formerly  occupied  by  Dr.  Francis  H.  Gray. 
Here  he  resided  twelve  years. 

During  the  seventeen  years  spent  at  the  West  End, 
he  was  uninterruptedly  occupied  in  professional  work. 
Before  he  came  to  Boston,  he  had  a  large  midwifery 
practice  which  engrossed  so  much  of  his  time  as  almost 
to  be  considered  a  specialty  with  him.  In  the  spring  of 
1879,  he  read  a  paper  before  the  Suffolk  District  Medical 
Society,  reporting  his  experience  in  this  department, 
under  the  title  "A  partial  review  of  two  thousand  cases 
of  midwifery." 


Life  in  Boston.  33 

He  was  able  to  make  a  large  number  of  vaccinations 
every  year,  and  rarely  failed  to  have  fresh  vaccine 
matter  on  hand  for  the  use  of  his  medical  friends,  as  well 
as  for  his  own  needs.  I  recall  that  a  large  portion 
of  my  leisure  time  in  boyhood  was  spent  in  carefully 
cutting  out  and  scraping  "points''  from  goose  quills,  for 
use  in  vaccination.  Quill  points  and  humanized  vaccine, 
like  many  other  medical  customs  which  my  father 
outlived,  have  had  their  day,  but  they  have  done  praise- 
worthy service. 

In  1872,  while  small-pox  was  raging  in  Boston,  his 
time  was  in  great  measure  occupied  in  vaccinating. 
This  was  the  busiest  year  of  his  life. 

During  the  period  in  which  he  resided  at  the  West 
End,  he  was  active  in  attendance  upon  the  meetings  of 
the  various  medical  societies  with  which  he  was  connected. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Membership  and 
Resignations  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  from 
1859  to  1885,  and  was  for  many  years  the  chairman. 
He  was  interested  in  the  Suffolk  District  Medical 
Society  from  its  organization  in  1849,  and  was  at  one 
time  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Social  Meetings. 
He  served  as  vice-president  of  the  District  Society 
in    1866    and    1867.     He  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 


34  Life  in  Boston. 

Boston  Society  for  Medical  Improvement  in  1857, 
and  was,  during  the  following  thirty  years  as  constant 
in  attendance  upon  its  meetings  as  his  engagements 
would  permit.  He  was  a  member,  and  at  times  an  officer, 
of  the  Boston  Obstetrical  Society  between  1864  and  1873. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Medical 
Benevolent  Society,  and  served  as  a  trustee. 

His  acquaintance  in  the  medical  profession  was 
exceptionally  wide.  Himself  a  type  of  the  general  prac- 
titioner of  medicine  before  the  era  of  specialties,  he  was 
not  only  well  known  to  most  of  the  neighboring  physi- 
cians in  private  practice,  but  equally  so  to  those  of  his 
profession,  who  held  hospital  appointments. 


LIFE    IN   BOSTON. 
1877-1887. 

Grow  old  along  with  me  ! 

The  best  is  yet  to  be, 

The  last  of  life  for  which  the  first  was  made. 

Our  times  are  in  His  hand 

Who  saith,  "A  whole  I  planned." 

Youth  shows  but  half ;  trust  God  : 

See  all,  nor  be  afraid  ! 

—  Robert  Browning. 

When  I  returned  from  Europe  and  began  the  practice 
of  medicine  in  1875,  mv  father  began  to  look  forward  to 
a  partial  relaxation  from  work,  and  in  the  spring  of  1877, 
shortly  after  my  marriage  with  Mary  Eliza  Farwell, 
daughter  of  the  late  Honorable  Nathaniel  W.  Farwell,  of 
Lewiston,  Maine,  he  removed  to  number  135  Boylston 
street,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston's  medical  centre, 
leaving  to  us  the  house  on  Hancock  street. 

In  May  of  the  following  year  he  took  his  first  long 
vacation,  spending  with  his  wife  six  months  in  Europe. 
He    was  not  less  methodical  in  travel    than    in    work, 

35 


36  Life  in  Boston. 

as  he  never  failed  each  night  while  away  to  make 
a  daily  record  of  the  sights  which  had  interested  him.  A 
charming  month  of  this  delightful  trip  was  spent  in  Thun, 
Switzerland,  which,  proved  to  be  a  good  halting  place  in 
the  middle  of  summer,  and  a  convenient  head-quarters 
for  the  numerous  Alpine  trips  which  they  made  in  every 
direction. 

Returning  home  from  a  well-earned  rest,  as  well  as 
delightful  vacation,  he  resumed  practice,  less  actively, 
however,  than  in  previous  years. 

Reading  had  always  been  to  him  a  favorite  pastime. 
He  subscribed  to  a  Medical  Journal  Club  twenty  years, 
and  I  venture  to  say  no  member  read  the  periodicals  more 
faithfully.  As  time  went  on  his  zest  for  books  increased, 
not  only  for  works  pertaining  to  his  profession  but  for 
general  literature,  especially  biography  and  travel. 
Literature  connected  with  old  Boston,  such  subjects  as 
now  receive  attention  from  the  Bostonian  Society  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  proved  of  unfailing  interest  to 
him.  He  likewise  began  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the 
newly  formed  Medical  Library,  now  in  Boylston 
Place.  He  possessed  a  good  working  medical  library, 
steadily  adding  to  his  collection  the  most  recent  of  the 
practical   works    as    they    were  published.     He  did  not, 


Life  in  Boston.  37 

however,  discard  all  of  his  earlier  guides,  and  sometimes 
referred,  even  in  the  latest  years  of  his  practice,  to  such 
works  as  Watson's  Practice  of  Physic,  Dewees'  System  of 
Midwifery,  Dewees  on  Children,  and  Copland's  Medical 
Dictionary. 

As  he  grew  older  there  was  no  radical  change  in  his 
views  regarding  treatment  by  medicine.  When  it  had 
been  the  fashion  to  use  calomel  and  other  drugs  to 
excess,  and  to  employ  venesection  freely,  he  had  always 
been  conservative  in  his  methods,  and  was  never  an 
advocate  of  heroic  treatment.  He  was  no  skeptic,  how- 
ever, regarding  the  value  of  those  medicines  which  he 
had  used  by  the  bedside  and  had  found  trustworthy,  and 
as  was  the  case  with  his  old  books,  he  frequently  resorted 
to  the  old-fashioned  drugs  up  to  the  last  years  of  his 
practice,  although  he  was  not  averse  to  the  employment 
of  new  remedies  when  he  considered  that  their  efficacy 
had  been  established. 

He  was  a  vigorous  opponent  of  shams  in  medicine,  no 
matter  in  what  form  they  appeared.  He  was  always 
loyal  to  the  highest  welfare  of  his  profession.  He 
appreciated  the  benefit  to  the  profession  from  the  rapid 
strides  made  by  specialties  and  welcomed  all  advances 
which    tended  to  make    the    science  of    medicine    more 


38  Life  in  Boston. 

practical,  often  quoting  Doctor  Holmes:  "Science  is  a 
good  piece  of  furniture  for  a  man  to  have  in  an  upper 
chamber  provided  he  has  common  sense  on  the  ground 
floor." 

As  time  went  on  he  became  more  inclined  to  keep 
records  of  his  interesting  cases.  The  last  article  of 
any  length  which  I  find  is  an  address  on  "  Medical 
Nursing"  delivered  before  the  nurses  of  the  Boston 
Lying-in  Hospital. 

He  was  helpful  to  younger  medical  men.  It  was  rare 
for  him  not  to  be  able  to  assist  them  by  recalling  some 
interesting  case  from  his  rich  experience  to  illustrate  the 
subject  under  discussion.  He  was  a  good  guide  for  he 
was  never  impulsive,  though  he  never  shirked  his  full 
duty.  "  Let  your  moderation  be  known  to  all  men,"  was 
his  most  frequent  quotation. 

People  had  confidence  in  him,  many  wrote  to  him 
for  advice  upon  subjects  not  strictly  of  a  medical 
nature.  He  was  always  willing  to  give  the  best  advice 
he  could,  and  he  never  forfeited  anyone's  confidence. 
"I  will  trust  your  prudence  and  judgment  anywhere," 
was  said  to  him  on  an  important  occasion  by  a  friend 
who  knew  him  intimately. 

In  May,  1882,  he  removed  to  Hotel  Pelham.    He  con- 


Life  in  Boston.  39 

tinued  to  see  his  former  patients  and  was  often  called 
in  consultation.  He  began  to  take  longer  vacations,  and 
to  enjoy  a  life  which  in  former  times  he  would  have  con- 
sidered too  quiet.  He  devoted  more  time  to  meetings  of 
a  social  character,  rarely  omitting  a  gathering  of  the 
Congregational  Club.  Church  services  were,  as  they 
had  been  through  life,  a  delight,  and  his  attendance  was 
not  confined  to  one  day  in  the  week. 

He  was  interested  in  all  good  causes,  and  was  a  benev- 
olent giver.  Nothing  in  his  history  has  impressed  me 
more  than  his  fortunate  association  during  his  whole  life 
with  so  many  of  the  best  of  men. 

In  July,  1884,  he  attended  the  semi-centennial  celebra- 
tion of  his  graduation  from  Bowdoin  College,  at  Bruns- 
wick, and  keenly  enjoyed  the  meeting,  ten  of  the  fifteen 
surviving  members  of  his  class  being  present. 

In  May,  1885,  he  visited  Newfield  to  attend  the  funeral 
of  his  eldest  sister,  Mrs.  Ham.  The  second  sister,  Mrs. 
Burbank,  died  December  14,  1889,  when  he  was  too 
feeble  to  take  the  journey  to  Newfield.  Both  sisters  are 
buried    near  their  parents    in   the  village  burial-ground. 


LAST  YEARS. 
i 887-1891. 

The  Fall  of  1887  found  him  engrossed  in  profes- 
sional and  other  duties.  Shortly  after  this  time  he  had 
an  acute  illness,  with  indefinite  symptoms,  from  which  he 
seemed  at  first  to  improve,  but  it  was  soon  evident  to 
his  family  that  he  would  never  be  able  to  resume  the 
duties  of  professional  life. 

Fortunately,  he  was  always  hopeful  about  himself  and 
always  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  it  might  be 
possible  to  take  up  again  a  portion,  at  least,  of  his  cares. 

Save  that  idleness,  as  he  called  it,  was  often  irksome 
after  so  busy  a  life,  his  days  passed  in  comfort,  for  he 
suffered  no  pain,  and  found  much  enjoyment  in  his  daily 
drives,  in  the  companionship  of  his  family,  and  of  the 
little  grandchildren,  and  in  his  much-loved  books  of 
which  he  never  tired. 

Two  years  before  he  died,  he  declined  on  account  of 
his  feeble  state  of  health,  a  renomination  as  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Boston  Lying-in  Hospital,  to  which  he  had 

40 


Last   Years.  4 1 

been  twice  re-elected,  but  he  remained  a  member  of  the 
corporation,  and  was  interested  in  its  welfare  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  corpor- 
ation held  January  15,  1890,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  passed 
to  the  retiring  vice-president,  for  the  services  he  had 
rendered  the  hospital. 

As  a  patient  throughout  his  long  illness,  his  natural 
traits  of  kindness  and  thoughtfulness  for  others  remained 
prominent,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  do  for  him.  The 
nurses,  who  were  summoned  in  different  phases  of  his 
illness,  all  became  attached  to  him  and  loved  to  minister 
to  his  necessities. 

He  passed  the  summer  of  1891  in  Bourne,  where  he 
had  lived  fifty  years  before.  He  returned  to  the  city  in 
the  middle  of  September,  apparently  improved  in  health. 

He  now  took  a  suite  of  rooms  in  the  Hotel  Oxford, 
and  seemed  to  have  much  of  life  and  enjoyment  before 
him,  when,  December  20,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with 
symptoms  of  epidemic  influenza  which  was  then  raging  in 
the  city.  During  the  first  few  days  of  the  attack  it  was 
thought  that  he  might  have  sufficient  strength  to  throw 
off  the  disease,  as  he  had  successfully  and  quickly  done 
the  preceding  year,  but  in  spite  of  every  care  pneumo- 
nia appeared.     On  the  tenth  day  of  his  illness  he  became 


42  Last   Years. 

unconscious  and  death  followed  at  sunset,  the  last  day  of 
the  year. 

The  funeral  took  place  from  his  pleasant  home  January 
3,  1892,  the  services  being  conducted  by  Reverend 
Samuel  E.  Herrick,  his  pastor,  assisted  by  Reverend 
Cyrus  Hamlin,  a  class-mate  and  life-long  friend,  both  of 
whom  made  feeling  and  appropriate  remarks.  The 
services  were  impressive,  and  their  effect  was  heightened 
by  the  touching  manner  in  which  favorite  hymns  were 
rendered  by  a  quartette  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Clarence  E.  Hay.  Many  professional  brethren,  friends, 
and  former  patients  were  present.  The  bereaved  wife 
had  suffered  severely  from  epidemic  influenza  in  the 
course  of  the  two  preceding  years,  and  during  his  final 
sickness  she  herself  was  very  ill.  She  was  prostrated  at 
the  time  of  his  death  and  was  scarcely  able  to  sit  up  in 
bed  during  the  funeral  services. 

He  was  buried  in  the  family  lot  at  Mount  Auburn. 

He  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  two 
months  and  twenty-seven  days,  having  accomplished  more 
work  than  it  is  given  to  the  majority  of  men  to  do. 

Among  the  many  interesting  clippings  in  his  note  books 
I  find  the  following  rules,  attributed  to  Baron  Rothschild : 


Last   Years.  43 

Attend  carefully  to  the  details  of  your  business. 

Be  prompt  in  all  things. 

Endure  trials  patiently. 

Fight  life's  battle  bravely,  manfully. 

Hold  integrity  sacred. 

Injure  not  another's  reputation  or  business. 

Join  hands  only  with  the  virtuous. 

Keep  your  mind  from  evil  thoughts. 

Lie  not  for  any  consideration. 

Never  try  to  appear  what  you  are  not. 

Observe  good  manners. 

Pay  your  debts  promptly. 

Question  not  the  veracity  of  a  friend. 

Be  moderate  in  appetite. 

Extend  to  everyone  a  kindly  salutation. 

Yield  not  to  discouragements. 

Zealously  labor  for  the  right,  and  success  is  certain. 

I  feel  that  these  rules  find  an  appropriate  place  here 
being  peculiarly  in  accord  with  his  own  life.  His  exact 
methods,  punctuality  and  uniform  courtesy,  his  industry 
in  his  preparatory  studies  and  throughout  a  long, 
laborious,  and  responsible  professional  life,  have  been 
especially  referred  to  in  this  sketch. 


44  Last  Years. 

His  integrity  and  rare  good  judgment,  combined  with 
his  way  of  manfully  overcoming  obstacles  and  never 
yielding  to  discouragements,  were  at  the  foundation  of  his 
signally  successful  life. 

How  unassuming  he  was,  how  pure  his  life,  how  strong 
his  reliance  upon  the  Scriptures,  how  firm  his  Christian 
hope,  I  leave  to  the  eloquent  and  touching  words  of 
loving  friends — a  class-mate  and  his  pastor  —  in  the  fol- 
lowing chapters. 

Nothing  can  be  more  inspiring  for  a  son  than  to 
review  the  life  of  a  father  who  has  left  to  his  family  the 
richest  of  all  inheritances  —  an  honored  and  lasting  name. 


2fn  (HUntorianw 

DR.  JAMES  AYER. 

In  taking  official  notice  of  the  death  of  Dr.  James 
Ayer,  the  Boston  Society  for  Medical  Improvement 
desires  to  record  its  high  estimate  of  one  of  its  oldest 
members. 

By  his  constant  attendance  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Society,  and  by  the  high  standing  of  his  professional 
and  private  character,  he  earned  the  respect  and  the 
esteem  of  the  Society  as  well  as  of  the  community. 

The  secretary  respectfully  tenders  to  the  family  of 
Dr.  Ayer  its  sympathy  in  their  bereavement. 


45 


REMINISCENCES    OF    COLLEGE    AND    PRO- 
FESSIONAL   LIFE. 

By  Reverend  Cyrus  Hamlin,  D.D.,  LL.  D. 

It  is  more  than  sixty  years  since  I  became  acquainted 
with  Dr.  James  Ayer  whose  remains  were  conveyed  to 
Mt.  Auburn  last  Sunday  afternoon.  He  was  my  class- 
mate in  Bowdoin  College,  entering  as  sophomore  in  1831. 

Bowdoin  College  —  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  all 
colleges,  was  quite  different  then  to  what  it  is  now.  It 
must  be  so,  for  everything  has  changed.  Our  clothing 
has  changed.  Every  tool  we  work  with  or  use  has 
changed.  The  surgeon  looks  with  horror  upon  the  in- 
struments that  were  used  seventy-five  years  ago,  or  even 
fifty.  The  students  were  from  the  families  of  farmers, 
traders,  mechanics,  and  professional  men.  But  almost 
every  one  had  a  bit  of  a  farm,  enough  to  keep  a  horse 
and  a  cow,  and  there  was  always  a  pig  squealing  about 
somewhere.  Almost  every  man  was  something  of  a 
mechanic,  something  of  a  farmer. 

47 


48  Reminiscences. 

Every  boy  knew  how  to  drive  a  nail,  which  a  boy  does 
not  know  now.  Life  was  full  of  labor  and  labor  was  full 
of  life.  There  was  not  less  ambition  or  less  mental  activ- 
ity then  than  now.  There  was  more  rudeness,  more 
rough  hazing.  There  was  a  much  severer  economy 
and  many  students  injured  their  health  by  low  living,  as 
many,  perhaps,  as  now  injure  it  by  high  living.  It  was 
the  general  practice  of  students  to  teach  a  district  school 
in  the  long  winter  vacation  of  two  months  and  if  a  stu- 
dent was  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  three  month's 
school  he  was  dealt  with  kindly  with  regard  to  making 
up  his  studies.  My  class-mate  Ayer  always  taught 
school  and  with  eminent  success.  Although  very 
young  he  had  a  certain  dignity  which  was  perfectly  natural 
to  him,  and  a  straightforwardness  which  impressed 
every  one  with  a  feeling  that  he  knew  what  he  was  about. 

Although  he  never  put  himself  forward  into  anything, 
but  was  rather  reserved,  he  had  a  genuine  amiability 
which  always  won  him  friends.  He  joined  the  great  ma- 
jority of  his  class  in  firm  opposition  to  all  hazing.  He 
was  regular  as  a  chronometer  in  his  attention  to  all  college 
duties.  These  were  never  light.  The  faculty  of  Bow- 
doin  College  were  men  of  power.  President  Allen  and 
Professors   Cleaveland,  Smyth,   Upham,  Newman,  Pack- 


Reminiscences.  49 

ard,  and  Longfellow  were  all  faithful,  able,  laborious  men 
and  they  gave  us  enough  to  do  and  held  us  to  it.  They 
were  an  inspiration  to  all  the  students  capable  of  estimat- 
ing true  nobility  of  character.  There  were  students  also 
whose  future  could  be  easily  predicted  and  who  exerted 
a  great  influence  upon  the  college.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol,  W. 
H.  Allen,  President  of  Girard  College,  Daniel  R.  Good- 
win, Samuel  Harris,  Henry  B.  Smith,  with  others  pressing 
on,  formed  a  center  and  source  of  intellectual  and  spiritual 
life.  James  Ayer  did  not  aspire  to  be  one  of  these  lead- 
ers. But  he  felt  and  owned  their  influence.  His  genuine 
modesty  sometimes  kept  him  too  much  in  the  rear.  But 
he  had  the  respect  of  them  all  and  the  close  friendship  of 
some.  He  was  devout  in  his  religious  duties.  He  pur- 
sued the  even  tenor  of  his  way  in  such  a  manner  that  no 
one  expected  him  to  turn  aside  into  any  studential  rival- 
ries or  animosities.  He  often  lamented  that  he  had  enter- 
ed without  the  thorough  "fit"  that  some  of  the  class  had 
received,  but  he  made  it  up  by  an  iron  diligence.  He 
had  a  conscientious  resolve  to  avoid  no  duty,  to  be  absent 
from  no  college  exercise  when  his  presence  was  required. 
I  question  whether  he  ever  had  a  mark  against  him  on 
the  college  books.  Such  an  example  is  of  great  value  in 
a  class.     It  is  a  reproof  to  those  who  shirk  certain  duties 


5o  Reminiscences. 

because  they  cannot  get  any  credit  for  doing  them  in  the 
manner  they  will  have  to  do  them. 

If  a  committee  of  three  had  been  chosen  at  our  grad- 
uation to  select  men  destined  to  useful  and  successful 
lives,  Ayer  and  his  chum  Jewett  would  have  been  readily 
and  confidently  placed  in  the  number.  He  had  the  ele- 
ments to  ensure  success  in  the  profession  he  had  chosen  — 
that  of  medicine  —  calmness,  consideration,  a  clear  judg- 
ment and  a  firm  will,  together  with  a  natural  kindness 
and  ready  sympathy  that  made  families  love  to  trust  him. 

I  became  thoroughly  acquainted  with  him  as  a  physi- 
cian on  my  return  to  this  country  in  1 860-61,  and  still 
more  from  1873  to  his  death.  He  might  be  called  in 
every  respect  "  the  good  physician."  There  was  a  con- 
scientious determination  to  understand  the  case  if  it  pre- 
sented anything  at  all  obscure.  He  would  use  no  posi- 
tive remedial  measures  until  he  felt  sure  that  he  was 
treading  on  safe  ground.  He  was  called  to  the  case  of  a 
friend  who  had  a  crural  swelling  that  might  need  atten- 
tion. He  had  doubts  with  regard  to  it  and  its  proper 
treatment,  and  called  in  an  eminent  specialist,  who  pro- 
nounced it  a  cancer  and  incapable  of  any  remedy.  Ayer 
would  not  yield  to  his  decision,  and  the  case  was  referred 
to  others.    There  was  great  difference  of  opinion,  and  one 


Reminiscences.  5 1 

of  the  greatest  of  surgeons  was  made  the  final  judge.  He 
pronounced  it  a  cancer,  and  operated  upon  it  as  such. 
It  proved  after  all  to  be  a  fatty  tumor  and  harmless.  Dr. 
Ayer  claimed  no  credit  for  the  correct  judgment  to  which 
he  had  adhered  against  the  highest  authorities,  but  it  is 
a  case  illustrating  his  character.  He  followed  that  case 
with  a  personal  interest  and  anxiety  which  had  no  finan- 
cial motive  whatever.  He  neither  sought  nor  received 
nor  expected  the  slightest  reward.  There  was  a  genuine 
sympathy  in  every  important  case  that  made  the  patient 
feel  that  in  the  physician  he  had  a  faithful  friend.  Some- 
thing of  this  is  natural  to  the  physician.  His  reputation 
is  involved  in  the  successful  issue  of  the  case,  and  he  is 
alert  for  every  means  of  alleviation.  Dr.  Ayer  had  all 
that,  but  he  had  more.  He  had  a  genuine  sympathy 
with  all  the  struggles  of  humanity.  He  had  worked  his 
own  way  up  to  eminent  success  through  severe  economy 
and  persistent  effort,  and  he  had  a  kindly  feeling  toward 
all  struggling  humanity.  He  went  to  the  poor  as  read- 
ily as  to  the  rich,  and  some  of  his  most  difficult  cases 
carried  through  with  brilliant  success  were  cases  where 
no  compensation  could  be  given  and  where  none  was 
expected. 

I  look  upon  my  classmate's  life  as  one  regular  harmo- 


5  2  Reminiscences. 

nious  growth  and  development  during  the  sixty  years 
that  I  knew  him. 

About  a  dozen  of  the  class  met  at  our  semi-centennial. 
A  magnificent  dinner  was  given  us  by  our  classmate,  the 
Hon.  Peleg  W.  Chandler.  Each  one  gave  a  brief 
account  of  his  fifty  years.  No  one  was  more  modest  and 
reserved  than  Ayer.  But  he  frankly  acknowledged  that 
his  success  in  life  had  been  greater  than  his  expectations. 
He  had  a  profession  to  which  he  had  always  felt  attached 
as  honorable  and  useful,  and  God  in  His  providence  had 
so  disposed  of  his  changes  in  life  that  each  had  been  a 
step  in  advance,  and  if  he  had  not  had  the  distinguished 
success  of  some  of  the  class  he  felt  that  he  had  all  and 
more  than  he  merited.  There  had  been  great  changes 
in  the  fifty  years,  but  God  had  not  changed.  Christianity 
had  not  changed,  and  the  truths  which  he  received  fifty 
years  ago  were  still  sufficient  for  him.  He  did  not  wish 
to  launch  out  into  any  of  the  speculations  of  the  present 
times.  Some  present  had  not  met  before  since  gradua- 
tion. We  visited  the  familiar  places  of  fifty  years  ago  ; 
we  recalled,  sometimes  with  tender  interest,  sometimes 
with  shouts  of  laughter,  our  college  life.  We  separated 
with  renewed  respect  and  affection.  Nearly  hatf  of  those 
who  there  met  in   1884  have  passed  over   tp    the   life 


Reminiscences.  53 

beyond.  But  no  one  has  carried  with  him  a  better  testi- 
mony of  his  associates  and  friends  to  a  life  well  spent 
We  can  pronounce  upon  him  the  Bible  benedictions 
upon  the  good  man,  the  just,  the  true,  the  benevolent, 
upon  him  who  fears  God  and  loves  his  fellow  man. 

Cyrus  Hamlin. 


FUNERAL  ADDRESS. 

By  Reverend  Samuel  E.  Herrick,  D.D.,  Minister  of 
Mount  Vernon  Church. 


Just  about  this  time,  twenty-one  years  ago,  the  name 
of  Dr.  James  Ayer  was  appended  to  the  call  in  response 
to  which  I  became  his  minister  and  the  pastor  of  Mount 
Vernon  Church.  Not  long  afterwards  he  became  my 
family  physician,  and  continued  to  be  until  he  was  com- 
pelled by  failing  health  to  resign  his  professional  work. 
We  were  thus  bound  to  each  other  for  many  years  by  a 
reciprocal  attachment  which,  to  me,  at  least,  was  the 
source  of  great  comfort  and  delight.  Our  knowledge  of 
each  other  was  necessarily  intimate,  our  communication 
frequent,  our  confidence  affectionate  and  complete.  I 
have  such  a  right,  and  perhaps  such  ability,  to  speak  of 
him  as  my  physician  and  parishioner,  as  he  would  have 
had  to  speak  of  me  as  his  minister  and  patient. 

54 


Fioieral  Address.  55 

Dr.  Ayer  came  nearer,  I  think,  to  fulfilling  the  ideal 
of  a  good  physician  than  it  is  often  given  to  men  to 
come.  He  was  naturally  well  endowed  for  his  profes- 
sion. He  had  a  tender  heart  and  a  cool  temper.  He 
was  prompt,  not  rash.  Enthusiasm  never  ran  away  with 
his  judgment.  He  would  risk  positively  nothing  for  the 
sake  of  brilliancy.  He  was  his  patient's  best  friend  and 
his  patient  knew  it  without  any  professions.  The  patient 
with  him  was  always  more  than  a  "  case."  I  doubt 
whether  he  ever  read  a  heart's  register  through  his  finger 
tips  that  his  own  heart  did  not  fall  into  sympathetic  action. 

His  sympathy  thus  inspired  affection,  and  his  judgment 
confidence.  He  carried  his  best  medicine  in  his  own  per- 
sonality. His  presence,  his  face,  his  voice,  his  manifest 
spirit,  were  sanative.  He  set  up  a  healing  power  first  of 
all  in  his  patient's  own  spirit.  Drugs  with  him  were  sub- 
sidiary. Health  in  its  largest  meaning  was  his  prime  ob- 
ject, the  "  mens  sanain  corpore  sano."  He  began  where 
possible  with  the  "  mens."  Courage,  hope,  expectancy, 
determination  —  he  established  these  as  the  basis  of 
medical  sanitation,  so  that  the  patient  felt  as  soon  as 
his  doctor's  fingers  were  upon  his  pulse,  that  the  cure  had 
begun.  At  the  same  time,  he  never  made  any  large  pro- 
mises,   there  was   no  braggart    pretence,   no   conceited 


56  Funeral  Address. 

air  of  superiority,  no  pompous  bustle,  no  display  of  pro- 
fessional knowledge  or  experience.  He  was  as  humble, 
modest  and  simple  as  a  little  child. 

There  was  no  perfunctoriness  about  him.  His  patience 
was  inexhaustible.  He  would  lay  out  his  best  skill  and 
give  as  unstintedly  of  his  time  and  his  energy  to  a  case  of 
charity  in  some  forlorn  hovel,  as  though  he  knew  golden 
guineas  were  at  the  end  of  his  visit.  His  best  honorarium 
was  found  in  the  gratitude  and  lasting  friendship  of  his 
patients  —  and  he  was  rich  in  these.  There  are  multi- 
tudes, I  am  sure,  in  this  city,  who  feel  with  me  sorely 
bereft  this  day  and  whose  blessings,  if  they  could  become 
visible,  would  hang  like  a  cloud  of  benediction  over  this 
silent  casket. 

Fortunately  it  is  within  my  power  to  speak  as  freely  of 
his  religious  life  as  of  his  professional  career.  He  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  Christian  church  at  an  early  period, 
and  the  union  was  mutually  an  honor  and  a  blessing  to 
the  very  last.  His  modesty  as  a  man,  and  his  humility 
as  a  christian  precluded  any  official  ecclesiastical  service. 
More  than  once  during  my  pastorate  in  Mount  Vernon 
Church  he  was  urged  to  accept  the  diaconate.  We  felt 
that  he  was  worthy  in  every  way  to  be  associated  in  a  ser- 
vice which  had  been  dignified  by  many  noble  men.     But 


Funeral  Address.  57 

he  could  not  be  prevailed  upon.  He  was  ever  ready  for 
a  service,  either  of  a  spiritual  or  material  kind.  He  could 
be  counted  upon  at  any  time  to  render  aid  by  personal 
ministry  among  the  poor,  or  by  generous  gifts,  or  by  his 
sympathetic  word.  He  did  not  withhold  his  shoulder  from 
the  wheel.  His  piety  was  neither  flighty  on  the  one  hand 
nor  depressing  upon  the  other.  Neither  in  the  religious 
and  social  meetings  of  the  church  nor  in  the  business  meet- 
ings of  the  parish  was  he  content  to  be  a  cipher.  He  was 
peaceable  and  a  peace-maker.  His  religious  opinions 
were  well  settled  and  yet  he  was  open  to  all  light,  and 
generous  and  large  minded  in  his  attitude  to  all  of 
different  ways  of  thinking. 

Courtesy  and  charity  were  marked  features  of  his 
bearing  towards  his  fellow-men.  In  my  long  acquaint- 
ance with  him  I  never  saw  him  ruffled  in  his  spirit  or 
intemperate  in  his  speech.  He  was  without  fail  the 
Christian  gentleman,  and  I  think  that  his  character 
would  be  accurately  summed  up  in  those  words  of  St. 
James  —  "First  pure,  then  peaceable;  gentle  and  easy 
to  be  entreated ;  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits  ;  without 
partiality  and  without  hypocrisy." 

His  life  viewed  as  a  whole  gives  the  impression  of 
singular  symmetry  and  completeness.   It  was  well-rounded 


58  Funeral  Address. 

and  full.  It  presents  no  rugged  or  precipitous  aspects. 
It  has  no  chasms — no  dead  and  desolate  craters  mar- 
ring its  surface.  It  is  smooth,  uniformly  gracious,  peace- 
ful, garnished  throughout  with  pleasant  and  harmonious 
growths  of  culture  and  of  goodness.  He  has  come  to 
the  garner  of  God  as  a  shock  of  corn  in  his  season,  ful- 
ly ripe.  Such  seed  means  reproduction.  It  is  dowered 
with  "the  powers  of  an  endless  life."  The  end  is  cer- 
tainly a  new  beginning.  He  has  entered  upon  larger 
ministries  —  I  shall  see  and  know  my  "good  physician" 
again. 


^\\Sv.v\m  l 


H.  L 


\ 


r 


